Gina--I don't share the analogy between the campus anti=apartheid movement of 40+ years ago, and the campus pro-Palestinian movement today. I was an active in the former movement at my university. The Gaza war is very different from apartheid.
1.Israel voluntarily withdrew from Gaza 20 years ago. This included destroying Israeli settlements there..
2. Hamas was elected with a plurality in 2006. They have ruled without free and fair elections since then.
3. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.
4. Hamas is a client of Iran's, who is determined to destroy Israel.
5.. Israel's blockade of Gaza began in response to the Iranian shipment of missiles into Gaza. The missiles were fired on Israel. Egypt blockaded Gaza too.
6. Israel's Gaza invasion was precipitated by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 1300 Israelis were slaughtered. Nearly 300 were taken hostage, with some tortured and killed.
7. Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas and others who would destroy it.
8. Many pro-Israel Americans, like me, are sickened by Netanyahu's prosecution of the war. Biden put small brakes on some of Israel's more outrageous tactics. President Trump, however, just called Gaza a "demolition area."
9. Some Pro-Palestinian student protesters threatened Jewish students on their campuses by blockading them in buildings, scrawling anti-semitic graffiti, and other frightening tactics.
Student protesters may believe that their anti-Israel protests are equivalent to anti-apartheid protests 40 years ago. For the reasons above, I believe they are badly misguided.
Hi Dan. Thanks for reaching out! I honestly did not intend this as an analogy between those two political movements, merely between the way that campuses in America got invested in them. However, I am super grateful to you for the reminder of why I should never ever write about anything political (as your final comment underline.) Unfortunately, this has already gone out to subscribers, but I will remember not to in the future.
hey Dan, as subpoint 6.5 would you like to add the estimated number of Palestinian civilians slaughtered in response, and then the percentage of a full human you consider a Palestinian person to be by your logic, or should I do that for you?
Gina--I don't share the analogy between the campus anti=apartheid movement of 40+ years ago, and the campus pro-Palestinian movement today. I was an active in the former movement at my university. The Gaza war is very different from apartheid.
1.Israel voluntarily withdrew from Gaza 20 years ago. This included destroying Israeli settlements there..
2. Hamas was elected with a plurality in 2006. They have ruled without free and fair elections since then.
3. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.
4. Hamas is a client of Iran's, who is determined to destroy Israel.
5.. Israel's blockade of Gaza began in response to the Iranian shipment of missiles into Gaza. The missiles were fired on Israel. Egypt blockaded Gaza too.
6. Israel's Gaza invasion was precipitated by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 1300 Israelis were slaughtered. Nearly 300 were taken hostage, with some tortured and killed.
7. Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas and others who would destroy it.
8. Many pro-Israel Americans, like me, are sickened by Netanyahu's prosecution of the war. Biden put small brakes on some of Israel's more outrageous tactics. President Trump, however, just called Gaza a "demolition area."
9. Some Pro-Palestinian student protesters threatened Jewish students on their campuses by blockading them in buildings, scrawling anti-semitic graffiti, and other frightening tactics.
Student protesters may believe that their anti-Israel protests are equivalent to anti-apartheid protests 40 years ago. For the reasons above, I believe they are badly misguided.
Best, Dan Weiss
PS: I am the anti-apartheid protester on the right, April 1980 https://tinyurl.com/5n7x9yk9
PPS My favorite "Fools Rush In" column was the one where you played hangman with Paul Westerberg.
Hi Dan. Thanks for reaching out! I honestly did not intend this as an analogy between those two political movements, merely between the way that campuses in America got invested in them. However, I am super grateful to you for the reminder of why I should never ever write about anything political (as your final comment underline.) Unfortunately, this has already gone out to subscribers, but I will remember not to in the future.
hey Dan, as subpoint 6.5 would you like to add the estimated number of Palestinian civilians slaughtered in response, and then the percentage of a full human you consider a Palestinian person to be by your logic, or should I do that for you?
Thank you for writing this.
Proteas are a favorite flower, so I hope I get out that way. Thanks for this column. All I think about these days is going far away.